AU690176B2 - Peel off coupon redemption card and tracking system - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT (Original) Name of Applicant/Nominated Person: Kenneth Thompson Actual Inventor(s): Kenneth Thompson Address for Service: DAVIES COLLISON CAVE, Patent Attorneys, o 1 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000.

Invention Title: "Peel off coupon redemption card and tracking system" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: -1- Y50124,q:\oper\k~ay,couporLdiv,1 -I I I The present invention pertains to the following areas of 1 technology: 2 PRINTED MATTER a label; 3 PRINTED MATTER having revealable concealed information, fraud 4 preventer or detector, use preventer or detector, or identifier by removable material that is adhesively attached; 6 PRINTED MATTER Advertising; 7 CHEMISTRY adhesive coatings on sheets and products.

Cents-off coupons and other types of discount coupons are well know ti grocery shoppers. Local newspapers print various :11. grocery item coupons, which will be honored by most major .12: supermarket chains. Coupons are also published in magazines, and 13. are frequently mailed to households in mass mailings. The retail oloooe 14 establishments that accept and honor these coupon then have to collate the coupons, and forward them to the manufacturer for 16. reimbursement plus handling costs. Coupons come in various 17 shapes, sizes and condition. The cashier accepts the coupons as 18 they are presented to her at the check out line at a supermarket.

19 The accepted coupons then have to be sorted and processed, which is very time consuming to the supermarket. It takes time for the 21 cashier to read each coupon, credit the customer's cash register 22 receipt for the amount stated on each coupon, and also ensure 23 that the customer has purchased the product stated on the coupon.

24 The cashier then places the redeemed coupons in a special drawer -2- It dr llpll 1 for sorting later.

2 Redemption stamps and stamp booklets also are well known in 3 the art. Green Stamps were popular in the 1950's. Participating 4 retail stores would display a decal or sign indicating that they would issue Green Stamps. Whenever a customer purchased goods at 6 the store, the store would issue to the customer a quantity of 7 Green Stamps, which would usually be based upon the purchase price of the goods. The Green Stamps were similar to postage stamps and had a glued backing that only had to be moistened to activate the adhesive ability of the stamps. The customer was ooo.oi 11 supplied with Green Stamp redemption booklets, which contained a 12 fixed number of blank pages for gluing the Green Stamps thereto.

The object was to fill up several booklets with Green Stamps. The !i4: full booklets then could be redeemed at a Green Stamp redemption center. The redemption center would give the redeemer free goods 16 in exchange for a certain number of booklets filled with Green i" Stamps. The system was funded by the retail stores, which 18 purchased the Green Stamps from the redemption center. The 19 participating stores believed that issuing Green Stamps increased their business, because customers would prefer to shop at a store 21 that issued Green Stamps over a store that did not.

22 23 51 R-4/ 3 -3 tT I Jlr Ir II I1 A I lrA j jV".V8 -3Ar o e r 1 1 According to the present invention there is provided a method of redeeming a coupon secured to a redemption card which comprises: presenting to a redemption centre a redemption card having a bar code thereon and containing at least one peel-off coupon; peeling off at least one said peel-off coupon from said redemption card; transferring said peel-off coupon to a tracking means; crediting the value of said peel-off coupon to the redeemer by reading said bar code on said redemption card with a bar code reader; and returning said redemption card to the redeemer.

The present invention also provides a method of redeeming a coupon secured to a redemption card and tracking the redeemed coupon, which comprises: presenting to a redemption centre a redemption card containing at least one peel-off coupon having a bar code thereon; placing a tracking means at said redemption centre; peeling off at least one said peel-off coupon from said redemption card; transferring said peel-off coupon to said tracking means; crediting the value of said peel-off coupon to the redeemer by reading said bar code on said peel-off coupon with a bar code reader; and returning said redemption card to the redeemer.

The present invention also provides a method of redeeming a coupon secured to a redemption card which comprises: presenting to a redemption centre a redemption card having a magnetic strip thereon, and having at least one peel-off coupon thereon; peeling off said at least one said peel-off coupon fror. id redemption card; transferring said peeled-off coupon to a tracking means; crediting the value of said coupon to the redeemer by reading said magnetic strip on said card with a magnetic strip reader; and returning said redemption card to the redeemer.

r 7 4T O~ Is I'l 11 0 1, 11 Ir"i C I j "'V3 3B The present invention also provides a method of redeeming a coupon secured to a redemption card and tracking the redeemed coupon, which comprises: presenting to a redemption centre a redemption card containing at least one peel-off coupon having a magnetic strip thereon; peeling off at least one said peel-off coupon from said redemption card; transferring said peeled-off coupon to a tracking means; crediting the value of said coupon to the redeemer by reading said magnetic strip on said peel-off coupon with a magnetic strip reader; and returning said redemption card to the redeemer.

oe The present invention also provides a method of redeeming a coupon secured to a redemption card which comprises: presenting to a redemption centre a redemption card having a bar code and a magnetic strip thereon and containing at least one peel-off coupon; 15 peeling off at least one said peel-off coupon from said redemption card; el .transferring said peeled-off coupon to a tracking means; crediting the value of said coupon to the redeemer by reading said bar code on said redemption card with a bar code reader and by reading said magnetic strip on said redemption card with a magnetic strip reader; and returning said redemption card to the redeemer.

The present invention also provides a method of redeeming a coupon secured to a redemption card and tracking the redeemed coupon, which comprises: presenting to a redemption centre a redemption card containing at least one peel-off coupon covered with a removable scratch-off layer thereon; removing said removable scratch-off layer from said peel-off coupon; machine reading the message on said visible coupon; peeling off said visible peel-off coupon from said redemption card; transferring said peel-off coupon to a tracking means; I I'n It It 1 .ljIA -3Ccrediting the value of said coupon to the redeemer; and returning said redemption card to the redeemer.

The present invention also provides a method of presenting an immunisation coupon secured to an immunisation card and tracking the immunisation record of a child, which comprises: issuing an immunisation card that has a series of coupons having bar codes thereon and representing the required vaccination shots needed by a child from birth to teenage years; periodically vaccinating a child according to the schedule set forth on said 10 immunisation card; presenting to an immunisation tracking centre the peel-off coupon corresponding to the particular vaccination administered to the child; placing a tracking means for the child at said immunisation tracking centre; transferring said peel-off coupon to said tracking means; recording the vaccination on said peel-off coupon by reading said bar code on said peel-off coupon with a bar code reader; and returning said immunisation card to the presenter.

The coupon redemption card and tracking system may include a •oeo in 1- 1 credit card size redemption coupon card used by the customer, and 2 a tracking sheet used by the redemption center such as a 3 restaurant. The redemption card has a plurality of mini -eupons, 4 which can be peeled off individually. Each rede lel off coupon is affixed to the tracking sheet, which t. nsions of 6 a dollar bill so that the sheet can be placed conveniently in the 7 till of a cash register. The tracking system facilitates the 8 accounting and inventory of redeemed coupons.

oeoo The coupon card is fabricated from two laminated layers of i paper or paper-like material, a clear plastic protective film, *1 "and an adhesive coating. The base layer is fabricated from a JZ. special paper. An adhesive layer is applied to one side of the i base layer. The layer, which will form the peel off coupon layer, 14 is then affixed to the layer of adhesive material. The finished two layered sheet is held together by adhesive material. The 16 layered sheet is produced as a large single sheet or as roll of i the material. The sheet or roll is then sent to the printer. The 18 printer applies printer's ink to both sides of the sheet to form 19 the desired printed matter on both sides of the sheet. After the printer's ink transfer process has been completed, the top side 21 o, the sheet has the requested identification or advertising 22 matter printed on it. The bottom side has the requested 23 individual coupons printed on it. The next step is to have the 24 top surface laminated with a clear plastic film for durability, protection, and to provide a pleasing appearance. This clear 4 ~I Ir~r--e 1 protective film lamination process can take place immediately 2 after the inking process. It must be done afterwards to protect 3 the previously applied printer's ink. The laminated sheets are 4 then die-cut on the coupon side. When the individual coupon is removed from the card, it has sufficient adhesive so that it will 6 adhere to the tracking sheet. The small size of the mini coupons 7 is convenient for the card holder and it is also convenient for 8 the redemption center. It eliminates the need to process diverse sizes and shapes of customer coupons. The system can be used .e Swherever one has to keep track of various redeemable coupons and the like.

12 The present invention is preferably used for fund raising by Lr:. charitable organizations that have youngsters as members. Such 14 organizations include the Little League, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 0.o Ee and the Y.M.C.A. Initially various fast food restaurants are 16 contacted in a given geographic area to ask if they would participate in the fund raising drive. The fast food restaurants 18 are asked to redeem the coupons submitted by the customer. The 19 fast food restaurant absorbs the costs. The fast food restaurant benefits by attracting new customers, keeping customer loyalty, 21 and increasing its good will in the community. The coupon cards 22 are fabricated and sold to the charitable organization for a fee.

23 The charitable organization then sells the cards to the public 24 for a higher fee. The difference between the cost and the price sold to the public is the profit made by the organization. The 5 1 money goes to fund the charitable or non-profit organization.

2 There is no overhead involved, because the cards are sold by the 3 members. The coupon card usually has a legend printed on it to 4 let the customer know which restaurants will honor the coupons.

The coupon system also eliminates employee theft at the 6 restaurant. It prevents a sales clerk from selling an item of 7 food, pocketing the money, and then telling the manager that he 8 or she gave away the item of food. Any food items given away would have to be evidenced by the redeemed coupon affixed to the tracking sheet in the clerk's till. When the coupon is redeemed, r1:i the clerk affixes the coupon to a blank square on the tracking 12 sheet and the- writes in the amount that would normally be charged for :hat food item as if the customer had paid for the item of food. The tracking sheets are also acceptable evidence by the Internal Revenue Service to show a legitimate tax deduction 16 by the restaurant. There are three parties involved in the 17 promotion: the fast food restaurant, the coupon card distributor, o,.

and the non-profit organization. This three party arrangement is 19 required by the I.R.S. before the restaurant can take the full deduction as a legitimate business expense. The completed 21 tLdacking sheets already have the prices written in by the clerks.

22 All of the prices on the tracking sheets are tallied by the 23 accountant. The total amount is allowed by the I.R.S. as a 24 deduction. Other types of promotional arrangements result in only a partial deduction by the I.R.S. of the actual costs incurred by 26 the fast food restaurant. It is also useful when the franchisee 6 1 calculates the royalties due to the franchisor, which are usually 2 based on gross sales.

3 The thickness of the coupon card is .0177 to .019 inches.

4 Conventional plastic credit cards are .021 to .027 inches in thickness. This is a standard thickness so that the plastic 6 credit cards can be used in a machine that accepts plastic credit 7 cards. All machines are designed to accept only this range of "thicknesses for a plastic credit card. The present invention cannot be used in a credit card machine, because it is too thin.

l"i This prevents misuse of the coupon card by those who might try to eoo•I 11 use the card at a bank teller machine for example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS •co.ei 13 FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a pair of folded peel-off 14 redemption coupon cards, which are illustrated in the unfolded position.

16 FIG. 2 is the tracking sheet where each redeemed peel-off 17 coupon from the card can be affixed thereto.

18 FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of a credit card size peel-off 19 coupon card.

FIG. 4 is top plan view of FIG. 3.

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1 FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of FIG. 3, the back being 2 identical.

3 FIG. 6 is a left side elevational view of FIG. 3, the right 4 side being identical.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 7-7 in FIG.

6 4.

7 FIG. 8 is a top plan view of an alternate embodiment of the coupon card 4nown in FIG. 1.

e 9 .FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the alternate embodiment of the tracking sheet shown in Fig. 2.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged left side elevational view of the 12: coupon card shown in FIG. 8. clearly showing the layers of 1.3 material forming the folded pair of coupon redemption cards.

1" FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of FIG. 6 clearly showing the layers of the materials forming the coupon redemption card.

16 FIG. 12 illustrates the back face of a single redemption card 17 having sixteen mini coupons with various fast food restaurants 18 printed thereon.

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1 FIG. 13 illustrates a typical tracking sheet used by a 2 redemption center such as a fast food restaurant.

3 FIG. 14 is a top plan view of a second alternate tracking 4 sheet where each redeemed peel-off coupon from the card can be affixed thereto.

6 FIG. 15 is a bottom plan view of the second alternate 7 tracking sheet shown in FIG. 14 where the value of each redeemed 8 peel-off coupon from the card can be tracked.

FIG. 16 is a bottom plan view of a variant of the basic peele• off coupon system.

11 FIG. 17 is top plan view of Fig. 16 showing a variant of the 12 basic peel-off coupon tracking system having z concealed scratchoff coupon and a bar code on another peel off coupon.

4a FIG. 18 is the face of a tracking sheet very similar to Fig.

16 where each redeemed peel-off mini coupon from the card can be a..

16 affixed thereto, and which is shown in FIG. 17.

17 FIG. 19 is an enlarged left side elevational view of FIG. 17, 18 the right side being identical and showing the scratch-off layer.

19 FIG. 20 is a top plan view of a complementary pair of 9

II

1 foldable immunization tracking coupon cards having h,r codes 2 imprinted on each mini coupon, and is illustrated in the unfolded 3 position.

4 FIG. 21 is an enlarged front elevational view of the pair of immunization cards shown in FIG. 6 FIG. 22 is top plan view similar to FIGS. 4, 12, 17 showing 7 the coupon side of a variant of the basic peel-off coupon card 8 fabricated from vinyl or PVC and having a magnetic strip and a 9 bar code to identify the entire card rather than just the mini coupon.

11i FIG. 23 is the reverse side of the card shown in FIG. 22.

12 FIG. 24 is top plan view similar to FIGS. 4, 12, 17 and 22 3J": showing the coupon side of a variant of the basic peel-off mini 4: coupon card having free coupons for use in a gambling casino.

FIG. 25 is a top plan view similar to FIGS. 1, 8, and 16 view of a complementary pair of double flap foldable stamp or 17 mini coupon cards, and is illustrated in the unfolded position.

18 FIG. 26 is a perspective view of the edge of the card 19 illustrated in FIG. 10 1 FIG. 27 is a perspective view of an example of a mini coupon 2 or stamp with a bar code placed thereon. The mini coupon can be 3 used as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 4, 8, 12, 17, 20, or 4 FIG. 28 is a perspective view of an example of a mini coupon or stamp with a magnetic strip placed thereon. The coupon can be 6 used as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 4, 8, 12, 17, 20, or 7# FIG. 29 is a perspective view of an example of a regular mini coupon or stamp. The coupon can be used as illustrated in FIGS.

1, 4, 8, 12, 17, 20, or i 11 -~IIIII r 2 Referring now to the drawings, the present invention includes 3 two major components. The first component is referred to as the 4 peel-off coupon redemption card 10. The single card is illustrated in FIGS. 3-7 and 11-12. The second component is 6 referred to as the tracking sheet 100. The tracking sheet is illustrated in FIGS. 2, 9 and 13. The tracking sheet illustrated in FIG. 13 is 6" x 2 The single coupon redemption card "9 10 is a credit card size, which can easily fit into the card holder of a user's wallet. The card 10 is thin, flat and has dimensions of 3 3/8" x 2 The four corners of the card are a2 rounded. The coupon card is thinner than a plastic credit card.

W.

0 The coupon card is .0175 to .019 inches in thickness. Other than 14 the thickness, it is identical in size to a typical plastic 15 credit card such as a bank card or an oil company credit card.

6. The back face 15 of the card 10 contains a plurality of small 17 mini coupons. FIGS. 4 and 12 illustrate the back side of the card 18 with the peel off mini coupons. Preferably the redemption card 19 has sixteen mini peel off coupons 20 secured to it. Each coupon is scored at any adjoining edges 22, 24, 26 and 28 by a die-cut 21 process so that one can peel away a corner of the coupon with 22 one's finger nail and then can easily remove that particular 23 coupon. A "dog ear" marking 30 is illustrated at one corner of 24 each coupon to visually indicate to the user where to begin the 12

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1 peeling process. The mini coupons do not have the "dog ear" 2 portion already exposed. It is foreseeable that a pull tab or 3 string of some type could be integrated with the coupon to assist 4 in the coupon removal process. The underside of the coupon 20 has an adhesive backing to hold the coupon in place. Each coupon on 6 the coupon card has printed matter printed thereon when the 7 coupon card is fabricated. In the preferred embodiment, the 8 printed matter on each coupon card is for a cash price discount 9. or a buy one-get one free meal at a fast food type of restaurant.

This type of coupon card is illustrated in FIG. 12. FIG. 12 illustrates coupons for several different fast food restaurants 12 to allow the card holders flexibility in their selections on where and what kinds of food to cat, because the partj ing restaurants printed on the coupons will honor the card c.c card holders tell the cashier at the restaurant when ordering that 16 they want to redeem one of more of their coupons. The card holder 17 then hands the cashier the coupon card. The cashier peels off the S requisite coupon for that particular establishment. The cashier 19 has a second component, the tracking sheet 100, located in her cashier drawer. The tracking sheet is about the size of a dollar 21 bill. This allows the tracking sheet 100 to fit in one of the 22 compartments in the cashier's tray normally used for holding 23 paper currency. After the cashier has peeled off the mini coupon 24 from the discount card, she affixes it to the tracking sheet kept in the cash register tray. The peeled off coupon 20 has 26 sufficient adhesive backing remaining on it so that it will 13 1 permanently affix itself to the tracking sheet 10. This sequence 2 of transferring the coupon from the card to the sheet is 3 illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13. The tracking sheet has room at 4 the top of it for printing with adjacent blank lines to enter information such as date, register number, location, shift number 6 and the like. The tracking sheet also has a grid layout defining 7 a plurality of squares, which are slightly larger than the mini 8 coupons. The squares are sufficiently large to accommodate the coupons 9 to be affixed to the tracking sheet without having to be placed too closely to one another. After the cashier has affixed the 11 coupon to the +racking sheet, the cents off coupon or the free 2 item coupon as the case may be, is deducted from the customer's Sitemized bil in the usual manner. The cashier then returns the redemption card to the customer. At the end of the shift or at .eo.oi •any reasonable interval, the manager can remove the cash drawer 16 tray along with the cash received, and the tracking sheet with 67": the affixed coupons. The tracking sheet with the affixed coupons ee function as a convenient reference list to assist in counting the 19' cash and coupons in the cash drawer tray in order to tally and balance out the total transactions for the shift with the aminount 21 of money and coupons taken in.

22 The redemption card 10 is fabricated from four flat sheets of 23 superposed layered material. The card 10 has a front face 25 and 24 a back face 15. The front face 25 is used for printing identification, graphics, or advertising on it, which is readily 14 ~-~11111~~ 1 9 C-- 1 visible on the card. The back face shows the peel off mini coupons 20. The front face 25 of the coupon card comprises the 3 front side of a sheet 30 of paper and is described as a tag 12 4 point release liner. The sheet 30 is described as the base layer.

The back side 35 of the sheet 30 has a layer of adhesive 6 applied to it. The adhesive 40 is sold by FASSON label, which it 7 calls SP11G special liner. The adhesive has a rubber-like base 8 material. It is very tacky to allow the coupon to adhere to many 9 types of material. The adhesive will not "bleed" or melt when it becomes warm. This is necessary, because the coupon card will be 11 carried in a man's wallet. The man can sit on his wallet containing the coupon card, and yet the adhesive will remain stable. The next sheet is used for the coupons. This sheet 50 is .4 described as the coupon layer. This sheet is sold by FASSON label manufacturing company. It is described as number #60 blue/white 16 high gloss white cream coat. FASSON sells its sheets under the federally registered trademark CRACK'N PEEL Plus. This material a8: is sold as 11.5" x 15" sheets or approximately 1,000 foot long 1.9 rolls. The top face of the liner which contains the advertising usually has a plastic film to cover the advertising to provide a more durable and shiny surface to the card. This top film 60 is 22 known as face stock and it is made out of 0069-2Mil UCL Polyolam 23 NPL Film. The card normally requires five different operations 24 just to make the card material. There are two material companies and a laminating company to create the material in sheet or roll 26 form. The printer then prints the advertising on the face of the RA4/

C)

'^NrOh I I -bl lFll--.--^1111 -1 l__li 1 sheet in sections so that the cards can be cut -eparately and 2 then on the bottom face of the material the appropriate coupons 3 are printed on the card in the appropriate spaces. After the 4 printing has taken place, then the top face of the tag liner is covered with the durable plastic liner or sealed with a liquid 6 protective sealant. The coupons are also die-cut during the 7 printing process. Therefore, the printing process comprises 8 printing the top and the bottom of the card, putting a plastic laminate on one side of the card and die-cutting the other side oeeo i0: of the card. The die-cutting process is sufficiently deep so 11 that the coupons can be peeled off.

2: FIG. 11 illustrates the side view of the coupon card. FIG. 12 illustrates the side view of a double coupon card. The thicknesses of the layers are exaggerated to clearly illustrate the layering of the card.

6. FIG. 8 illustrates a double card where the coupons are spaced 17 apart. FIG. 9 illustrates one type of tracking sheet.

18 It is to be understood that the specific materials used to 19 form the card can be substituted for those herein described. The coupon card material is similar to a peel off label sold at 21 office supply stores. The coupon card is an enlarged label and 22 improved to form the coupon card. The coupon sheet and the base 23 sheet could be fabricated from any number of materials. The 16 I i 1 o I I I I t A -17adhesive film could be any number of films already on the market. The plastic film could also be any number of films already available on the market.

FIG. 14 illustrates a top plan view of a second alternate tracking sheet where each redeemed peel-off coupon from the card can be affixed thereto. FIG. 15 illustrates the bottom plan view of the second alternate tracking sheet shown in FIG. 14 where the value of each redeemed peel-off coupon from the card can be tracked.

After the counter clerk removes a peel-off coupon 15 from the coupon card, he or she affixes the coupon onto one of the squares 115 on the tracking card 110 shown in FIGS. 14 and 18. FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 show the step of transferring the peel-off coupon 15 to the tracking sheet. The total amount of the sale is then written in the top of the square 120 adjacent to the symbol and immediately above the coupon. At the end of the shift or sooner if the tracking sheet is filled up with redeemed coupons, the clerk then adds up the total dollar 15 value on the front of the sheet for the total sales. FIG. 14 shows a line 125 towards the bottom to insert total sales. The back side of the tracking sheet in FIG. 15 illustrates four rows of boxes. In the first box 130 in row one, the clerk enters the total number of peel-off coupons received for the promotion. For example, buy one regular o C I- 1 hamburger and get one free. The clerk then enters the price of the 2 peel-off items in the second box 135 in row one. The amount in 3 box one ismultiplied by the amount in box two and the product of 4 themultiplication is entered in box three 140 on the first row.

The clerk must then calculate the percentage of the cost of 6 promotion to be entered in box 145. In the left column 150 the 7 percentage of the product cost is entered, then the cost of 8 material is entered and then the total labor to make the item is 9 entered. Theses figures are supplied by management. The total is added and enteredin box 155. The same number is entered in box 145 11 in the first row. The number in box 145 is subtracted from the 12": number in box 140 to arrive at the cost of the promotion, which is entered in box 160 in row one. The next three rows of boxes 14 are used if the promotion covers other items such as a free coke *or order of fries. The right boxes 160 and below are totaled to 16 arrive at the total cost of the promotion which is entered on line 165.

ee: FIG. 16 illustrates a bottom plan view of a variant of the 19:. basic peel-off coupon card 200. FIG. 17 isa top plan view of Fig.

16 showing a variant of the basic peel-off coupon tracking system 21 having a concealed scratch-off coupon 200 and a bar code 210 on 22 another peel off coupon. The scratch-off cover 205 is a hot foil 23 treatment that is applied to one of more coupons after the 24 coupons are printed. It is inanded that the underlying coupon offers a special prize for the cardholder. For example, the 18 1 hidden coupon could offer a free hamburger, coke, or fries to the 2 cardholder. Also illustrated in Fig. 17 is a bar code 215 3 indicating a medium pizza. The bar code is machine readable by a 4 wand bar code :eadpr or a stationary bar code scanner. The addition of bar codes on the peel-off couponb allows for greater 6 tracking capability on the part of the redemption card center, 7 which is usually a fast food restaurant. After a tracking sheet such as those illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 18 are filled with S e :S redeemed coupons, the filled tracking sheets could be scanned or I" read by a bar code reader that would send the data to a computer eoo E 11 which would tabulate the redeemed coupons to accelerate the 12 tracking process, and would reduce or eliminate human error. It would also reduce the number of man hours needed to manually 14 tabulate the filled tracking sheets. FIG. 18 is the face of a "iP. tracking sheet very similar to Fig. 16 where each redeemed peel- 16 off mini coupon 15 from the card 200 can be affixed thereto, and which is shown in FIG. 17; 18 FIG. 19 is an enlarged left side elevational view of FIG. 17 19 showing the scratch-off layer. The scratch Off layer 205 is clearly visible. The thicknesses of the laminated layers forming 21 the card and the foil scratch-off layer are greatly exaggerated 22 to clearly illustrate the various laminated layers.

23 FIG. 20 illustrates a top plan view of a complementary pair 24 of foldable immunization tracking coupon cards 250 and 255 with 19

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ABT~~ sa*l~lraa~llrrnm~nr~:.

1 bar codes 260 imprinted on each mini coupon. FIG. 20 illustrates 2 the pair in the unfolded position. FIG. 21 is an enlarged front 3 elevational view of the pair of immunization cards shown in FIG.

4 20. The present invention can be adapted to be used as an immunization card used in tracking the immunization record for a 6 child. The method of using the present invention in this way can 7 be practiced by issuing an immunization card that has a series 8 coupons 265 having bar codes 260 thereon and which represents the 9 required vaccination shots needed by a child from two months of age up to sixteen years of age. Many local schools will not 11 enroll a child unless the parent can produce evidence that the child has already had certain vaccinations. The present invention can be used to verify this information. Additionally local, 14 state, and federal health officials feel that the immigration of young children an-1 child bearing adults has created a unique 16 problem in trying to keep track of these children to ensure that 3:i: they are receiving their necessary vaccinations such as their DTP vaccinations. Failure to properly vaccinate these young immigrant f9 children could lead to epidemics of diseases that are easily protectable against by proper vaccinations. The card shown in 21 FIGS. 19 and 20 would be completed for each child. The lines 265 22 could be used to enter information about the child. The child's 23 name and social security number would beentered into some type of 24 data base operated by the government. The child's parents would keep the immunization card, and would present it to the doctor 26 each time the child had its appropriate vaccinations. The doctor 20 1 would then remove the peel-off coupon 265 for the particular 2 vaccination administered, and then would place it on a tracking 3 sheet. The doctor would then mail the completed tracking cards to 4 the appropriate department in charge of tracking vaccinations for young children. The department could read the bar codes 260 with 6 a bar code reader and then have the information entered into a 7 computer. The computer could keep track of the children who are 8 not receiving their vaccinations, and could send out reminder 9 notices to the parent or the physician that the child needs specific vaccinations.

In the drawings, FIG. 22 illustrates the back side of a redemption card 300 and is similar to the views shown in FIGS. 4, 12, 17. FIG. 22 illustrates the coupon side of a variant of the i basic peel-off coupon card. The card can be fabricated from vinyl of PVC. A magnetic strip 305 and a bar code 310 are positioned on the card 300 to identify the entire card rather than just the peel-off mini coupon 315.

FIG. 23 is the front, or reverse side of the card 300 shown 9 in FIG. 22. FIGS. 22 and 23 are life size depictions of the card as illustrated on 8 by 14" paper. Printed matter such as ii advertising or a description of the card would normally be 12 printed on the front side shown in FIG. 23. The magnetic strip 13 305 illustrated in FIGS. 22 and 23 can be a special strip made by 14 Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing company, commonly known as 3M.

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1-3 IRllrr- 3M refers to it as magnetic strip stock number 315 84 98011 4811.

16 It can be directly applied to paper and can function as a 17 magnetic strip. Everyone is familiar with a bank or gasoline type 18 of credit charge card. The typical bank or gas credit charge card 19 generally has the appearance as that illustrated in FIG. 22. The magnetic strip 310 is positioned lengthwise along one or both sides of 21 the card 300. The magnetic strip 310 is blank when the card is 22 fabricated. An encoding machine is available which can 23 electronically encode any message on the magnetic strip.

24 As regardc the present invention, an encoding device could be used to activate the card 300 shown in FIGS. 22 and 23 so that the card cou'd be used in any number of applications. A quantity :27. of cards could be fabricated and sold to the ultimate redeemer of .et..i 28 *the cards who wishes to function as a redemption center. The 29 encoding machine could be made available to this entity so that the blank magnetic strips 305 on the cards could be encoded •e according to the wishes of the purchaser of the cards. The front 'a2 side of the card illustrated in FIG. 23 could be made from vinyl 33. or PVC. The approximate thickness of the card could be .007 to 5555 34 .020 inches. The transfer tape 305 has high coercivity. The bar code 310 may be placed on the front or the back of the card 300.

36 The card illustrated in FIGS. 22 and 23 is the preferred 37 configuration. It is to be understood, however, that the card may 38 be any size or shape.

22 I- I--l -rl 39 Additional variations of the special coupons and coupon cards are illustrated in FIGS. 25 through 29. The individual peel-off 41 coupon card 400 can have dimensions of 1" by 13/16". The overall 42 length of the double flap stamp card or coupon card 420 can be 43 6 5/8" by 2 The release liner 405, labelled in FIG. 26, 44 is referred to as a release liner. It can have thicknesses of 6,8,10, or 12 tag. Tag is a term in the label making industry 46 indicating thickness. The front side of A is for printing and 47 coating. The back side of A is a release for liner for face 48 stock. The top layer 410 is a facestock with an adhesive on 49 one side. The coupon 400 illustrated in FIG. 28 has a 3M special paper magnetic strip 315 84 98011 4811 401 and can be applied to paper. The magnetic strip 401 illustrated in FIG. 28 can be

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a 52': in width and placed along the bottom edge of the peel-off coupon 400. This still leaves sufficient room for placing printed 54 matter above the magnetic strip. The strip of bar code 402 in FIG. 28 is wide. A regular peel-off coupon 400 is illustrated in FIG. 29. It is 13/16" wide and 1" long. A 57" regular coupon and the coupons illustrated in FIGS. 25,26,27, and 59. 28 can also have these same dimensions.

59 While the present invention has been shown and described herein in what is conceived to be the best mode contemplated, it 61 is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the 62 scope of the invention which is therefore not to be limited to 63 the details disclosed herein, but is to be afforded the full 64 scope of the invention.

23 A 11i .11 (A II I lMIi \I W.

-23A Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.

e e ee et e

I

Claims (9)

1. A method of redeeming a coupon secured to a redemption card which comprises: presenting to a redemption center a redemption card having a bar code thereon and containing at least one peel-off coupon; peeling off at least one said peel-off coupon from said redemption card; transferring said peel-off coupon to a tracking means; crediting the value of said peel-off coupon to the redeemer by reading said bar code on said redemption card with a bar code reader; and returning said redemption card to the redeemer. 24 -p -Q CC, ~ee. 1

2. A method of redeeming a coupon secured to a redemption 2 card and tracking the redeemed coupon, which comprises: 3 presenting to a redemption center a redemption card 4 containing at least one peel-off coupon having a bar code thereon; 6 placing a tracking means at said redemption center; peeling off at least one said peel-off coupon from said 8 redemption card; •eel•: 9 transferring said peel-off coupon to said tracking means; crediting the value of said peel-off coupon to the redeemer v'1" by reading said bar code on said peel-off coupon with a 12 bar code reader; and returning said redemption card to the redeemer. 25 L- IC~ CO r b Il 1

3. A method of redeeming a coupon secured to a redemption 2 card which comprises: 3 presenting to a redemption center a redemption card having a 4 magnetic strip thereon, and having at least one peel-off coupon thereon; 6 peeling off said at least one said peel-off coupon from said redemption card; :8 transferr 4 .ng said peeled-off coupon to a tracking means; 9 crediting the value of said coupon to the redeemer by reading said magnetic strip on said card with a magnetic strip 11 reader; and 12 returning said redemption card to the redeemer. 26 1

4. A method of redeeming a coupon secured to a redemption 2 card and tracking the redeemed coupon, which comprises: 3 presenting to a redemption center a redemption card 4 containing at least one peel-off coupon having a magnetic strip thereon; 6 peeling off at least one said peel-off coupon from said redemption card; a .8 transLorring said peeled-off coupon to a tracking means; 9 crediting the value of said coupon to the redeemer by reading said magnetic strip on said peel-off coupon with a 11 magnetic strip reader; and 12 returning said redemption card to the redeemer. 27 ~II IIIIL I 1

5. A method of redeeming a coupon secured to a redemption 2 card which comprises: 3 presenting to a redemption center a redemption card having a 4 bar code and a magnetic strip thereon and containing at least one peel-off coupon; 6 peeling off at least one said peel-off coupon from said redemption card; 8 transferring said peeled-off coupon to a tracking means; 9 crediting the value of said coupon to the redeemer by reading said bar code on said redemption card with a bar code 11 reader and by reading said ragnetic strip on said 1*2 redemption card with a magnetic strip reader; and iki": returning said redemption card to the redeemer. 28 1 2 3 4 *lt. 11 1 oee •ee ee 11 12

6. A method of redeeming a coupon secured to a redemption card and tracking the redeemed coupon, which comprises: presenting to a redemption center a redemption card containing at least one peel-off coupon covered with a removable scratch-off layer thereon; removing said removable scratch-off layer from said peel-off coupon; machine reading the message on said visible coupon; peeling off said visible peel-off coupon from said redemption card; transferring said peel-off coupon to a tracking means; crediting the value of said coupon to the redeemer; and returning said redemption card to the redeemer. 29 RAQ ~IT -o I I=- 1

7. A method of presenting an immunization coupon secured to 2 an immunization card and tracking the immunization record of a 3 child, which comprises: 4 issuing an immunization card that has a series of coupons having bar codes thereon and representing the required 6 vaccination shots needed by a child from birth to teenage years; r o periodically vaccinating a child according to the schedule I S9 *set forth on said immunization card; 0 :presenting to an immunization tracking center the peel-off coupon corresponding to the particular vaccination :12: administered to the child; placing a tracking means for the child at said immunization i 14 tracking center; transferring said peel-off coupon to said tracking means; 16 recording the vaccination on said peel-off coupon by reading 17 said bar code on said peel-off coupon with a bar code 18 reader; and 19 returning said immunization card to the presenter. 30 I" )it I Inr IS 02 w98" -31

8. A method of redeeming a coupon substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

9. A method of presenting an immunisation coupon substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 15 DATED this 19th day of February, 1998 KENNETH THOMPSON By his Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON CAVE e *e* 9e o o eoeo 1 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE 2 A coupon redemption card and tracking system includes a credit 3 card size redemption coupon card used by the customer, and a 4 tracking sheet used by the redemption center such as a restaurant. The redemption card has a plurality of mini coupons, which can be 6 peeled off individually. Each redeemed coupon is affixed to the 7 tracking sheet, which has dimensions of a dollar bill so that it can be placed in the till of a cash register. The tracking system facilitates the accounting and inventory of redeemed coupons. The I0" coupon card is formed as two laminated layers of special paper 11 joined together by a layer of adhesive :-aterial, and a layer of clear plastic film on the top face of the card. The base layer is i* fabricated from a special paper. An adhesive coating is applied to one side of the base layer. The peel off coupon layer is affixed to the adhesive coating. The finished layered sheet is printed on both 16 sides, die-cut on the coupon side, and then laminated with the film on the other side. Each coupon that is removed from the card has 18 adhesive to adhere the coupon to the tracking sheet. The small size 19 the mini coupons is convenient for the card holder and the redemption center. It eliminates the need to process diverss sizes 21 and shapes of customer coupons. The system can be used where jer 22 nne has to keep track of various redeemable coupons. 23 I- Irs~rm